We do this all of the time, and Kyle is correct in that 4
circuit chases are the minimum, if you want the lights to really look like they are going smoothly
in one direction. We Buy premade strings of c7 and c9 sockets in thousand
foot reels, then all that is required, is to put a
connector on the end of each run. We use the fast mount connectors. If I remember correctly, the c9 stings come with a
connector every 30" and the c7 every 12. You can
lay 4 runs of the c9 side by side, and tie them every so often with short pieces of
wire such as the individual strands from
cat5. We buy them from a place on the web
call Specialty lighting. We also
purchase the lamps in boxes of 25 from the same people. We have purchased about ten different styles of lamps over the last five years, and always put them back in the original boxes when not in use. We also use the$69.95 toolbox dimmers from Bulbamerica.com to drive the chases.
All in all, It can be done for not a lot of money. It is a little time consuming putting the strings together, and mounting them in the arches or portals. We have discovered that it can be done in a few hours if you set up an assembly
line with a four or five people. It makes it much faster and less troublesome when handling such long runs and so many lamps.